# A Stargazing Night in Monsaraz, an Hour and a Half from Badajoz A Saturday of pottery and menhirs, sunset from the walls above Lake Alqueva and a telescope session at Cumeada. You sleep in the area and on Sunday head back for lunch. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/alentejo/monsaraz/itineraries/stargazing-night-in-monsaraz · Revisado: 2026-11-12 Dónde: Monsaraz Monsaraz is a walled hill above Lake Alqueva, an hour and a half from Badajoz, with two white streets and a castle from which you can see Spain across the water. By day it is a two-hour stroll. What calls for staying overnight is the night: Monsaraz lies at the heart of Dark Sky Alqueva, the first destination in the world certified as a Starlight Tourism Destination, and twenty minutes away is the Cumeada observatory, with guided telescope sessions. This plan combines a Saturday of pottery, menhirs and sunset with that session, and leaves you home on Sunday at lunchtime or shortly after. ## How do you get there from Badajoz? By car, about 90 km and an hour and a half. When you cross the border the clock goes back an hour: if you leave Badajoz at 10:00, you arrive at 10:30 Portuguese time. There is no train nearby, and the observatory, the menhirs and the river beach are outside the village: a car is almost essential. Only residents are allowed inside the walls; you park below, by the gate. Some Portuguese motorways charge electronic-only tolls: if your route uses one, register your number plate before you cross. ## Where to sleep? At the foot of Monsaraz, São Lourenço do Barrocal is an Alentejo estate with a winery turned into a hotel: rooms in the old estate houses and cottages, spa, pool and cooking with its own produce, with the village on the hill opposite. For other options, see the Monsaraz page. Sleeping nearby matters: when you leave the observatory it is pitch dark and the roads in the area have no lighting. ## What about the moon and the clouds? With a full moon you can see the Moon and the planets, but not the Milky Way: for the full sky, choose a Saturday near the new moon. If the sky is overcast, the observatory cancels the session or offers you another date. In winter the sky is very clear and the cold on the plain is serious: hat and gloves. ## In summer: the lake beach From June to September, the river beach at the Centro Náutico, at the former Moinho do Gato, at the foot of the hill, has lifeguards, a Blue Flag, adapted access, showers, a children's area and a picnic area. On Sunday morning you can drive down from the village in a few minutes: it is the way to beat the heat before heading back. In July and August, leave the walk along the walls for sunset and early morning. ## With children Under-7s do not pay at the observatory and ages 8 to 12 pay €10, but the session starts late: with small children, go between October and March, when it gets dark early. The Xerez menhirs and the potters at the wheel go down well with them, and the village is small and car-free. ## If you have a day to spare Évora is about 55 km away, less than an hour: the Roman temple, the cathedral with its terrace and the Chapel of Bones. See the Évora page and return to Badajoz along the A6. ## El plan ### Saturday · 11:00 · Pottery workshops of São Pedro do Corval The largest pottery centre in Portugal, with more than twenty working workshops a few kilometres from Monsaraz. Go in and watch the potter at the wheel and buy hand-painted plates and jugs from the person who makes them. Each workshop has its own hours: Saturday morning is a better bet than Sunday. ### Saturday · 13:00 · Lunch among the vines at Herdade do Esporão The Esporão wine estate, in Reguengos de Monsaraz, serves tasting-menu lunches among vines and olive groves, with an optional pairing of the house wines. Open Tuesday to Saturday, at midday only, and you must book at least 72 hours ahead. If you prefer something simpler, Reguengos, the nearest large town, has Alentejo cooking based on bread and pork. ### Saturday · 16:00 · Xerez Cromlech, next to the Orada convent Fifty-five granite monoliths around a 3.6 m menhir, at the foot of the hill. They stood on land that the reservoir was going to flood and were moved here in 1998. Free, outdoors, half an hour. ### Saturday · Sunset · The village and castle of Monsaraz Walk up from the gate along the two cobbled streets to the castle, at the end of the hill, an hour before sunset: in November, around 16:15; in June, around 20:00. The light falls straight onto the lake. ### Saturday · Night · Stars at the Cumeada observatory Twenty minutes from the village. The Dark Sky Alqueva session starts roughly an hour after sunset, so in winter it is early and in summer it goes past ten, and it lasts an hour and a quarter: that night's sky explained and then telescopes. It costs €25 from October to April and €30 from May to September; ages 8 to 12, €10, and under-7s do not pay. There is one session in Portuguese and another in English. Bring a coat in summer too. ### Sunday · 10:00 · Fresco Museum and the village without crowds In the morning the village is almost empty. In the former Paços de Audiência, the medieval fresco of the good and the bad judge; next to it, the parish church, the pelourinho and the cistern. ### Sunday · 12:30 · Back to Badajoz An hour and a half by car: you arrive at 15:00 Spanish time. If it is summer, swap the morning for the lake's river beach. ## Un consejo más Book the stargazing session before leaving Badajoz. Places are limited and there are only sessions from Tuesday to Saturday. ## Cuándo no ir A full-moon night if what you want is the Milky Way. The telescopes still show you the Moon and the planets, but the deep sky is lost. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### How long does it take from Badajoz to Monsaraz? An hour and a half by car, about 90 km. From Mérida, about two hours. In Portugal it is an hour earlier. ### Which days is there stargazing? Tuesday to Saturday, by reservation. That is why the plan sleeps over on Saturday night. ### How much does the session cost? €25 per person from October to April and €30 from May to September. Ages 8 to 12, €10; under-7s, free. ### Can you drive into Monsaraz? No. Only residents go inside the walls: you park outside the gate and walk up. ### What if it is cloudy? The observatory cancels the session or moves it to another date. Check the forecast on Friday and keep Évora as a plan for Saturday afternoon. ## Dónde dormir if you're driving - **São Lourenço do Barrocal**: An Alentejo monte turned into a hotel São Lourenço do Barrocal is an agricultural estate about two centuries old at the foot of Monsaraz, surrounded by olive groves, turned into a hotel. The rooms are in the estate's old houses, around whitewashed courtyards, and some look towards the walled town on top of the hill. Rooms, cottages and restaurant There are rooms of several kinds (winery, courtyard, farm and suites) and cottages of one to three bedrooms, the choice for families or groups. It has a spa, a pool with a bar and two places to eat: the house restaurant, with Alentejo cooking made with produce from the estate and from small neighbouring producers, and the Hortelão. Rates and availability are on its website. Getting there and what is nearby It is in the municipality of Reguengos de Monsaraz, a few minutes by car from the town and the river beach. From Badajoz it is an hour and a half. The Cumeada Dark Sky observatory is about half an hour away: the estate, far from lights, is also a good place to look at the sky. - **Monte Alerta**: A country house under the walls Monte Alerta is a rural guesthouse on the plain at the foot of the Monsaraz hill: from the house you can see the medieval town above and, on the other side, the border with Spain. It is about 2 km from the Monsaraz Nautical Centre and the Alqueva river beach. It is a simple, quiet alternative to sleeping inside the walls, with your car at the door. The house and gardens The estate has gardens with large trees, one by the pool and another for meditation, other green areas and a small artificial lake that cools things down in summer. The pool is open from 1 May to 5 October. The rooms are traditional in style, and there is a large shared lounge, which is where the wifi reaches. Breakfast is made with regional products and fresh juices, and there is a bar that favours local produce. What to do from here The house suggests nearby wineries, such as Esporão, Carmim, Ervideira and José de Sousa, the megalithic route, boat trips on the lake, the network of municipal trails and the stargazing sessions at Cumeada, about twenty minutes away by car. ## Dónde dormir if you're flying - **São Lourenço do Barrocal**: An Alentejo monte turned into a hotel São Lourenço do Barrocal is an agricultural estate about two centuries old at the foot of Monsaraz, surrounded by olive groves, turned into a hotel. The rooms are in the estate's old houses, around whitewashed courtyards, and some look towards the walled town on top of the hill. Rooms, cottages and restaurant There are rooms of several kinds (winery, courtyard, farm and suites) and cottages of one to three bedrooms, the choice for families or groups. It has a spa, a pool with a bar and two places to eat: the house restaurant, with Alentejo cooking made with produce from the estate and from small neighbouring producers, and the Hortelão. Rates and availability are on its website. Getting there and what is nearby It is in the municipality of Reguengos de Monsaraz, a few minutes by car from the town and the river beach. From Badajoz it is an hour and a half. The Cumeada Dark Sky observatory is about half an hour away: the estate, far from lights, is also a good place to look at the sky. - **Monte Alerta**: A country house under the walls Monte Alerta is a rural guesthouse on the plain at the foot of the Monsaraz hill: from the house you can see the medieval town above and, on the other side, the border with Spain. It is about 2 km from the Monsaraz Nautical Centre and the Alqueva river beach. It is a simple, quiet alternative to sleeping inside the walls, with your car at the door. The house and gardens The estate has gardens with large trees, one by the pool and another for meditation, other green areas and a small artificial lake that cools things down in summer. The pool is open from 1 May to 5 October. The rooms are traditional in style, and there is a large shared lounge, which is where the wifi reaches. Breakfast is made with regional products and fresh juices, and there is a bar that favours local produce. What to do from here The house suggests nearby wineries, such as Esporão, Carmim, Ervideira and José de Sousa, the megalithic route, boat trips on the lake, the network of municipal trails and the stargazing sessions at Cumeada, about twenty minutes away by car.